Can I make an NFT for a piece of rare code?
Asked by
Smashley (
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)
November 12th, 2021
I have come into possession of a 5½” floppy disk containing original source code for an old cartidge game on a popular system. The code comes with little annotations and everything, it’s honestly pretty cool if you’re into these things.
Can I make an NFT of this rare code, so that I could sell it like an art piece or rare artifact? I know I could just sell the disk, but it seems so impermanent and insignificant, compared to the unique configuration of bits it contains. Plus, all the kids are doing it, I think.
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10 Answers
Sure, if you can demonstate it is unique and not replicable (i.e., “non-fungible”).
Selling it is another matter. Whay would anyone want to buy it?
@zenvelo
Lots of enthusiasts fancy old technology.
@zenvelo I guess I was curious about how. Im aware original images can be made into NFTs, what about rare pieces of code?
Who owns the copyright on the code?
@elbanditoroso – Good question. I wish I knew if someone had bought it, but the company that developed it 35 years ago has been defunct for a quarter century now.
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@elbanditoroso – but if I read copyright law correctly, them selling off their source code disks and shutting down probably counts an overt action and intent to abandon the copyright, thereby entering it into the public domain.
@Smashley I am not a lawyer, so i have no real idea. That could be so, but it’s a gamble.
Suppose you took the code and republished the game? Would you potentially be liable if the original writer came out of the wood work and sued you?
Could I re-release Huckleberry Finn under the name “Joe Smashley”? That’s out of copyright, too.
Seems risky to me.
@elbanditoroso – I guess I’m just not too concerned these guys are coming after me, and if they did, I’m pretty sure I’d be in the right. Anyways, this is getting off track. I’m not trying to reprint Shakespeare here, I’m trying to preserve an original folio. And it’s not Shakespeare here, anyway.
The question would have better been phrased “in what manner could an NFT best be used to represent this physical/digital artifact I have obtained.” Perhaps I just put the code on an NFT with an annotation of “pulled from source disk… etc etc 11/15/21” and a photo of the disk? Or should I make an NFT of just the code and bundle it with the physical disk?
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